Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

Research in the past few decades has increased our understanding of psoriasis; however, there is still a long way to go. While it is known that psoriasis is an immune system related condition, it is not completely understood how the immune system becomes activated to cause psoriasis. Researchers continue to learn more about this process. It is also known that psoriasis is a hereditary condition; however, some people who carry the gene for psoriasis do not actually develop the skin condition. Research to learn more about the genetic link to psoriasis continues.

Current treatments for psoriasis focus on alleviating the unpleasant symptoms of this skin disease. A study taking place throughout Canada will evaluate the effectiveness of Enbrel (etanercept) in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Similar studies with Enbrel (etanercept) are taking place across the United States.

Many different drug companies are researching new treatments for psoriasis that focus on the immune system. Many experts agree that the future of psoriasis treatment lies in getting to the root of the problem in the body's own defense system (immune system). This means significant resources will continue to be dedicated to research and development of new drugs for psoriasis. One of the drugs that is currently being researched in this manner is inflixamab, a monoclonal antibody. Researchers believe that this medication inhibits the progression of psoriatic arthritis. While it is still being studied for long term effects and has not been approved for use yet by the FDA, there seems to be significant hope on this front.

Recent research has demonstrated that there may be a connection between psoriasis and the chance of developing heart disease. Many physicians believe that this is due to the inflammation, or swelling, that is associated with psoriasis. Researchers are currently looking to make a more definitive connection between the two.